WINNER: The giveaway is closed now, and the winner is Danielle Ellis! Congratulations, Danielle! If you entered but didn’t win this time around, keep trying, and click here to enter any ongoing giveaways before you jet.

It’s mani/pedi day.

Would you believe I haven’t painted my fingers or toes since Christmas?

I know! It might even be a record for me. Not that I haven’t wanted to make some lacquer love, because I have. I’ve been thinking about it for weeks, but you know how it is. Sometimes you just get caught up doing other things.

Well enough of that. Come hell or high water, I’m painting my paws today, and I’m thinking maybe a purple on my fingers and something green on my toes.

We shall see!

I hope you have something fun lined up for today. Other than painting my nails, I should do at least a little housecleaning (it never ends!), but I figure that if I can accomplish something productive early, I’ll feel better about chilling out later today.

Oh, I almost forgot — I should also swing by Petco to look at cat towers this afternoon because his royal majesty has pretty much trashed his current kitty condo. He’s completely shredded the carpeting, and now the only thing holding it together is duct tape!

Classy…

LOL! Before you jet, take a moment to enter today’s giveaway. And whatever you’re up to this weekend, I hope there’s room for fun (if you haven’t seen War Horse yet, go see it!).

One (1) Sephora eGift card containing $50 sent to the winner by email (international readers, you may opt to receive $50 sent by PayPal instead).

There are two ways to enter, and you can do both of them for two chances to win. First, you can enter by leaving a comment at the bottom of this post, a comment about anything at all, like, what’s your default nail polish color? Which eye cream are you loving right now? What color are the walls in your room? What time of day are you at your best? What was the last makeup or beauty product you finished? — you get the idea.

Second, you can enter by following me on Twitter @karenmbb and retweeting (RT) the following message:

Follow @karenmbb and RT to Win a $50 eGift Card from Sephora! http://bit.ly/xyuTdr

The deadline to enter is Sunday, January 15, 2012 at 11:59PM (PT).

Entrants must enter using a valid email address and/or Twitter account to win.

A maximum of two (2) entries per person — one within the comments at the bottom of this post, and a second entry via Twitter addressed to me @karenmbb.

Contest is open to individuals of any country who have reached the age of majority according to their local laws (18 in the United States with these exceptions: Alabama and Nebraska, 19; Mississippi, 21).

Sephora eGift Certificates can only be redeemed online and are not valid in stores or available for purchase or redemption in Canada. International winners may opt to substitute the Sephora eGift card prize for $50 sent directly to their email address by PayPal instead.

Tabs and I (heretofore referred to as “T-Money and K-Dawg”) will select one (1) winner at random from the entries either left in the comments at the bottom of this blog post or addressed to @karenmbb on Twitter.

The winner will be announced here within 48 hours of the deadline.

Void where prohibited by law.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

WINNER: The giveaway is closed now, and the winner is Danielle Ellis! Congratulations, Danielle! If you entered but didn’t win this time around, keep trying, and click here to enter any ongoing giveaways before you jet.

Today I woke up with hair that looks like knives were used to hack away the tips. However, I am going to be okay with this once I put on my MAC Deliciously Forbidden. What is it about a bold lip that makes a person (me!) feel spunky? Happy Saturday, Karen!

Ohhh, I just painted my nails last night. Sephora by OPI in Natural Envirin-mint with All About Shimmer layered over it. It’s beautiful and a nice break from the usual dark, wintery colors I’ve been doing.

My default nail color is “Brunette on the Internet” by Sephora for OPI. Two coats and it’s a dark, slightly warm red without going vampy. I thought I lost my bottle once, and I freaked out!! But it was found soon after, and my fingers & toes are tipped with their lovely deep red once more.

I do not have a go to nail polish or color. I’ve turned in to an obsessive nail polish buyer. In. The last year alone I’m sure I have bought over 150 new bottles alone lol. Currently I’m wearing OPI Pink Friday and a Nfu Oh pink holo on top. I can’t remember the number. Have a great weekend!

Hm… If I can’t decide on a color, I usually reach for a polish shade somewhere between bright light blue and bright sky blue, especially if I need a pick-me-up color. I love the way those kinds of colors look on my nails

I can’t really say I’ve actually “finished” anything haha…I’ve used up top/base coat for nails but there was still some left, I just couldn’t reach it with the brush ^^;;FadBurger recently posted … Burberry Rosewood Eyeshadow Single

I don’t have a default nail polish – but I definitely have favorite colors: red and gray. I recently got a shipment of Zoya nail polishes, which include Kelly (dark gray – lurvely!), Sooki (bright bright red), and Megan (the light lavender one from their winter “Feel” collection. Right now, I’m wearing Zoya Kelly, but later today, I’ll probably switch it up, and either go with Sooki or Megan, or even Dree (a perfectly olive color). If I had the time and patience, I’d switch up my nail color every single day!

I have no default nail polish color because I rarely use the same color more then maybe 3 times…. I looovvvve nailpolish so much I have to have a new color on my nails each time! And I paint my nails 2 times a week at least!

My holy grail polish used to be Garnet Red by Sation but I think they went and changed the formula because when I bought another bottle and used it, it just seemed different. Jewelry Red by Kleancolor is becoming a great replacement however!

My default nail polish color is a purple from Zoya called Yasmeen!
I don’t use an eye cream, but I do use Jojoba Oil to help with fine lines I have from dryness (it really works).
My walls here at school are white (obviously I can’t paint them), and my walls back at home are a dark, slightly grayed teal.
I’m at my best in the late morning/early afternoon.
The last product I finished was probably my MAC Eye Brows. Gotta have nice looking brows

Just finished my first week back at school and we already have a three-day weekend! I feel like we’re wasting a long break HAHA–wish I could move this break to another month where we don’t have any breaks!

Ah, War Horse. I want to see it in the theater, but I also know that I will probably cry my eyes out, so I’m actually waiting for it on Netflix.

My go-to nail color is Sally Hansen’s Gunmetal (from the Xtreme line), but this fall my new staple became Fenchurch (a goldish brown matte), from Nails Inc. Fenchurch goes with just about everything I wear, in terms of colors.

I am so stoked for the new Benefit foundation! I’ve recently gotten really into their products and I can’t wait to try it. I’ve never worn foundation, just concealer and a little powder at most so I am hoping i’ll change my mind about foundation

This week I purchased the new Maybelline Illegal length mascara from Ulta, and completely disliked it! I brought it back to trade it for my usual mascara of choice Falsies. After opening that product I realized the wand was missing the brush that applies the mascara:( fail…

My go-to nail polish color is OPI Dulce de Leche. It’s a gorgeous nail color and it appropriate for work and play. I would love to win this gift card and use it to buy a new night moisturizer. I got a sample of Boscia’s Restorative Night Moisture Cream and fell in love!

Planning a crazy green look for going out to dinner tonight with my dad- basically I’ve just been bored and I feel the need to use green! It kinda goes well as I’m taking a course on Human Impact on the Environment at the moment

I caught the stomach flu from my mom(thanks momma!), so all I’ve been able to do the last 3 days is stay in bed and drink copious amounts of Vitamin Water while reading beauty blogs. Thank you for keeping me sane!

I am soooo in love with the Chanel printemps collection, I could not resist buying the eyeshadow quad, eyeliner, paradis lipstick, lipliner and I am thinking about the blush. Their new foundation is also perfection <3- Love the feel, texture, and that it is very longlasting. Another product I cannot live without is OPI Nail Envy. It gives me perfect, long and beautiful nails <3 Currently I am wearing Nail Envy with OPI Steady as she Rose

I’ve been beauty deprived all week from this awful cold… when I’m awake enough to emerge the house, I’d love to buy some new blush! Have my eye on those new only-at-Sephora colors on the Tarte Amazonian Clay line.

I usually don’t paint my finger nails, but I’ve been rocking a gel mani since Christmas. I don’t know the actual name of the colors, but first time I had it done was a dark navy with tiny pink glimmers. This time I’ve got a dark reddish brown.
Love gel manicures, they last forever and my nails don’t break like usual.

My toes are always some crazy color – dark green, grey, duochrome, it’s the one place I can indulge my inner crazy woman.

So I’m really loving the new Maybelline Color Tattoo eyeshadows & I am on a mission to get all of the colors. Unfortunately, I do not own any paint pots by MAC but I hear Maybelline’s CTE are quite close in comparison. The staying power was really impressive when I used it as a base & that alone is a huge feat. However, the price and the range of colors makes it all the more appealing. So if you don’t own the Maybelline CTE I encourage you to go out and buy one (or all)… you won’t be disappointed!

I’m the same way, haven’t painted my toes since before Christmas but I did take the the polish off today. I left them bare for the moment but my default color is some sort of blue. My birthday is coming up so my fingers are a beautiful shade of Garnet.

I hadn’t painted my nails forever either. So the other day when I learned of our on coming snow storm, I decided to paint my nails Pacific Blue by Sally Hansen. I’m tired of cold weather so I busted out a summery color

I just polished my nails with a China Glaze color called “it’s alive”. SUCH a pretty green sparkly color! I always finish my Bobbi Brown night cream. Loving Dermatalogica’s eye cream with SPF 15. I function the best in the mornings, actually! Thank you for the giveaway, Karen!

Today on my nails I attempted to do the YSL “Tuxedo” Manicure, matte black with glossy black tips! It looked good the first day after I did it… but after the wear and tear on my hands after day, the glossyness of the tips are starting to fade ;[ and now my nails kinda just look.... black. haha! hope you're having a good weekend, AND that you're watching them Niners! ;]

Hi Karen. Right now I have Chanel’s Peridot on my toes. I read all of the reviews and looked at swatches relentlessly and finally splurged on a bottle. But now that I’m wearing it I’m pretty disappointed. It just doesn’t look that great with my skintone (really pale). I’ll keep wearing it since I spent so much for it but I wish I had saved my money. Just goes to show not every shade is meant for you!

I have a default nail polish every season but I try very hard to use a different polish each week because I have so many. This season my default seems to be Essie Fishnet Stockings because it goes with my wardrobe. It’s a deep red…a little burgandyish and I seem to be wearing a lot of grey, black and burgandy this fall/winter.

I just now realized that after all those times I’ve entered to win your e-gift cards, that I never came back to check if I won! =( Is that the only way the winner is notified? By, checking back? I’ll make sure to check back this time though!

i honestly don’t know if i’ve ever actually finished a product…other than lipbalm. it may have gotten old and gotten thrown away or i grew tired of it, but i dont think i’ve actually had an empty pan/pot/tube/pencil of anything!

It has been a productive day for me and that includes fixing the breaks on my car;) at least I don’t have to hear the squeaky noise. Then I got ready for work, home now and eating Vietnamese food…. Need I say more!?

I never paint my nails. I just keep them bare, and I like it that way. I’ve been using hydrocortisone cream for eye cream, because I have scaly red patches around them I hate Eczema season! All the walls in my house are white because I rent. I’m at my best probably 7-11PM. That is my creative time, when I can write papers, be productive, etc.

I don’t really finish beauty products that often. I guess it would probably be a sample of DiorShow Extase or a Lancome Artliner… I usually have to get rid of stuff because of expirations/sanitation concerns.

My new default color is OPI’s Jade is the new black. My room is painted lilac, WOnderful time of the Morning is 6am. Clinique’s all bout eyes is so multi- purpose as an eye makeup base and moisturizer.

I haven’t painted my nails in several weeks either. I may have to remedy that tomorrow. Red is my favorite nail polish color because…well, because you just can’t go wrong with a good red polish. It’s impossible.

I’ve hit pan on Tarte’s Amazonian Clay Blush in Exposed, which is amazing because I’ve never finished any of the millions of other blushes that I own lol. It has got to be my fave blush ever. I literally wear it everyday!

My favorite mascara eveeeer is Blinc Kiss Me mascara, it NEVER smudges since its a tube mascara and I love that the color is so dark. Also, it was so wonderful because it removes without any difficulty with just warm water and some pressure to your lashes. Slides right off!

Default nail color is shimmery nude. Boring, but forgiving when I don’t have time to do a perfect application. And beauty products I go through the most are lip plumpers. The stinging kind. They really work on my lips, so I keep running out of them!

I’ve been meaning to get Zeal a cat tree since we moved into this basement apt. The one window in here (besides the tiny one in the front door) is about 5′ off the ground, with a 3′ deep sill, and is over an inset radiator, so I can’t just put a piece of furniture in front of it for her to jump up on and into the window. However, to get a tree I can put next to the window, that’s tall enough, and that I feel is sturdy enough is pricey. Poor Zeal… one of her favorite past times used to be sitting in a window & people watching too.

Tabs rocks!!!! Everytime you post up pics of him, I show my sisters. Their not into beauty products like me and don’t read beauty blogs like me. But everytime there’s a Tabs photo they have to see it. It’s so funny because he’s a household name at my house. Everybody loves Tabs!!!! : )

Right now i have on my nails:
Zoya’s Yasmeen as a my base color/all over the nail, with China Glaze’s Snow Globe and Milani’s Diamond Dazzle (which is just like SG but with smaller glitter) layered and faded from the tip in a sort-of ombre effect. And then i have 6ss “AB Crystal” Swaravski crystals at the bottom of my nails (just above the cuticle)
I love glitter and rhinestones. If fact i rarely do a mani or pedi that doesn’t include a rhinestone or two. Even my “basic” french mani/pedis usually have them.

Well, I guess my default nail polish is purple, since I can’t stop purchasing more purple nail polish. (New Zoya promotion? Somehow I ended up with another purple.)

In terms of finished products, I have nearly finished my Dream Matte Mousse foundation by Maybelline, and I guess Seche Vite counts as being finished if I’m amassing 1/4th full bottles with the intention to restore them all and put them into one bottle. (Seche is a pain in the butt to work with sometimes, but it works rather well for me.)

I used one of the Maybelline tattoo shadows today, Bad to the Bronze. I like it a lot, gotta love that name! I told DH the name and I could see he was thinking what a silly name LOL Thanks for the cool giveaway, have a nice weekend!

Loving the new NARS collection!!! Of course it would come out right when I tell myself I can’t buy anything for a month =( Mexican rose and valipariso look BEAUTIFUL on you! I hope they look as good on me!

I recently fell in love with Loreal’s Visible Lift foundation. I’m only 22 but I use it because it leaves a FLAWLESS finish. So beautiful! Haha, my friends have even asked if I’m pregnant because my skin ‘glows’. I also am going through an Urban Decay & Nails INC obsession. I love Nails INC special effects, there my go to polish right now. And who doesn’t love the naked palette? I got the book of shadows iv for $29!! If anyone reading this is interested, t’s on sale on their site right now for $44…then enter coupon code seventeen11 and you get an extra $15 off!!
Thanks for having such an awesome and generous giveaway! I’d love to be able to use the giftcard for the Naked Palette 2!

i used to paint my nails at least once a week. now i can’t be bothered. if i start to paint mine, then my 4 year old demands i paint her nails and toes. the only problem is that she insists on a different color for each nail! sooooooo i just stopped painting mine to avoid her demands. hahahah

Love your giveaways……..even though I haven’t won yet! My default nail polish for holiday/winter time is Ruby Pumps by China Glaze. Zoya Anja is a great nail color too! Other than that I am fickle and change polish every 4 days or so. Thanks for the opportunity to win!

I’m using one of those magnetic nail polishes. I like it, but I keep hitting my nail with the magnet and messing up the polish. I need more practice. But, the ones that I didn’t mess up look really cool.

I resolved to buy fewer lipsticks in 2012 – since last year I bought an average of 3 per month, I decided the max would be 1 per month this year – and two weeks into the year I have bought 5 lipsticks T______TeRiN recently posted … Something something 2011

I want to wear Essie’s Turquoise & Caicos allllll the time. It’s my absolute favorite and looks better on me than any other polish I’ve tried. I feel like it’s a very spring/summer color, though, so I’ve forced myself to stay away from it lately.

Zoya Charla is my go-to nail color. I love love love it so much! It’s so sparkly and amazing, it makes me think of mermaids China Glaze For Audrey and Zoya Blair are my other top ones. Of the gajillion polishes I own, those are probably the only ones I’ll ever actually finish!

Love your blog!! The only colors I use in nailpaint are Red and Hot pink. I swear when I was in college I wore all colors from blue to green to pastels. But I am all about red and hot pink now. EVen with lipsticks. Keep up the good work.

Right now I am loving the Tarte eye candy shadow stick in champagne on my lids. Just enough shimmer, not too much. And for a while I was hooked on Wet n Wild in nutty. LOVE that color on the lid and just into the crease. I’m not too into nail polish, I type a lot and can never find one to not chip. I think I’m gonna try shellac.

umm, default nail…Chanel Particuliere or Becca Saddle up. My eye cream right now is Pai Echium antiaging cream, it is the only one that does not sting my eyes.
The last makeup item I finished is my Chanel waterproof eyeliner in Espresso, I used it everyday and the thing only lasts a little more than a month…I am looking for a cheaper alternative for my upper waterline, no luck!
Thanks Karen!

What time of day are you at your best? Fun question — for me, anytime when the sun is NOT up. I am a night owl of the most extreme kind! Of course, I have kids, a job and all of that stuff, so I can’t actually be nocturnal.
Thanks for the giveaway!

I’m a night owl trying to become an early bird. I’m still searching for a great eye cream. I seem to collect more nail polish than I wear, mostly mauvy pinks. Love Tabs on his condo – think of all the furniture he hasn’t scratched because he picked on his condo instead.

How do you like it so far? I was THIS close to buying the caviar stick in the blue color. I hear it’s impossible to manipulate after it dries, which, apparently is pretty quickly. Would you recommend?
Thanks!!

Right now I’m all about the teal nail polish! I have a darker cream teal from Joe Fresh (I really wasn’t expecting much when I bought it, but I’m actually loving it!) that goes from navy to a dark green. Its so pretty against the snow

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Featured MBB reader of the week: kwmechelle!

Guurl! Thanks for all the '90s hip-hop refs and our fun conversations about bronzer. One day that CoverGirl Queen Collection Bronzer will be mine... IT WILL BE MINE!!!
I've really enjoyed getting to know you in the comments and hearing about your adventures with your niece and nephew. Flute BFFs forever. GO BAND GEEKS! :)